Terror and Darkness
by EmpressOfSarcasm
Summary: Mako hates empty words and broken promises. So why does he find himself making that one promise that will cost him everything to a girl who he barely knows? Slight Makorra. Oneshot.


**I wrote this _ages_ ago. I can't remember which episodes it's between, but I'm certain that you can figure it out. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Korra or any of its characters. Those belong to the genius creators known to our fandom as Bryke. :)**

Terror and Darkness

Mako always entered the gym early in the morning. It was his staple, how he lived his life. After all, he worked in the afternoons in the power plant and with the Pro-Bending tournaments coming up the Fire Ferrets needed all the practice they could get. If he didn't go to the gym early then he wasn't Mako, simple as that.

He entered the gym space and found that he wasn't alone. For the first time in days Korra was back. He ignored the way his heart began to pound when he saw her. He was with Asami now. Plus he had to keep his head in the game for the tournament. There was no reason to get distracted now when he was so close to fulfilling his and Bolin's dream.

She was throwing some stone discs into the net the way Bolin had taught her. Her gaze was intense, her posture stiff and unyielding. By the way her blue eyes stormed, he knew something was on her mind.

"Good to see you're back," he commented lightly.

Korra didn't take her eyes off of the net when she threw two more discs into the net. "Good to be back," he heard her mutter. There was no life in her voice. She was too lost in thought. He may have only known her for a few weeks but Mako could tell she needed to get something off of her chest.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He wasn't good with talking. That was Bolin's skill. Mako had always felt that actions spoke louder than words; show someone that you meant business, that you were as good as you thought you were, and no words needed to be said.

Korra threw another disc into the net before getting out of her stance and turning to face him. "It… it's just some stuff," she said. A weak excuse. Korra wasn't one to beat around the bush or make up excuses for something. She faced problems head-on without fear, like when they'd gone to get Bolin back from the Equalists. If she was doing this then the problem had to be serious. She didn't know how to handle it.

"Tell me," he said, sitting on a bench and motioning for her to do the same. She gave him a grateful glance and sat beside him.

"It's Amon," she whispered. "Remember that party Councilman Tarrlok held for me last week?"

Mako nodded, unsure of where she was going with this conversation. "Yeah. And how he used the press to get you angry so you'd join his task force."

Korra nodded sadly and rubbed her arms like she was cold. "I'm sure you read about how we found that Equalist training center in the city. Well… after that I challenged Amon to a duel."

Mako's eyes widened. "You _what_?" She couldn't have been serious. Amon was too dangerous for her to take on by herself, Avatar or not. He was the craziest of psychopaths and was bent on destroying every bender in the world. _Talk about ambitious,_ he thought wryly.

"Yeah," she murmured. "Crazy, right? Well, I challenged him and… he showed up. I told him not to bring any chi-blockers with him but he did. They knocked me out and when I woke up Amon told me that he wouldn't fight me. Not then. He told me that he was going to save me for last, when everyone I knew and loved had had their bending taken away first. Then he would show his true power and destroy me." Her voice broke and she wouldn't meet his eyes.

Mako reached out and touched her bare arm. Her flesh was cool and soft. Not that he noticed or anything. "No one is going to let Amon do anything with his threat. He will be stopped and brought to justice. You've done it before and you'll do it again."

She shut her eyes. Was that… was that a tear rolling down her cheek? "You don't know that, Mako." Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, like leaves falling to the ground in autumn. "Amon is so powerful… He's nothing like anything Avatar Aang faced at the end of the Hundred Year War. He's a monster. He will try to make good on his threat. He'll do his best to try." She looked up at him sadly with tears in her eyes. "The truth is, Mako, I'm just scared. I'm terrified of what he'll do to you and Bolin and Tenzin and everybody—" She broke off into sobs, curling into herself.

He had no clue what to do. He'd never seen Korra like this. Sure he'd only known her for so long but… she just seemed too strong for this kind of thing. Then he realized something: Korra may have been the Avatar but she was just a normal girl. She was scared for her friends and family. As Avatar, those she loved most suffered the most. She was still a teenager and couldn't handle all of this on her own.

It hit him then: she felt alone. He knew the feeling all too well. He'd had to take care of Bolin on his own since he was a kid. But in her case it was different. She was surrounded by people who cared for her best interests but they didn't truly care to help her sort out what she was feeling or talk to her when she was excited about something. They didn't care if she felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. No one was there to help carry her burden. She may have had Tenzin, who was like a father to her, but he could only do so much. She didn't even have her own parents, who were down in the South Pole.

In a move that shocked him as much as it shocked her, Mako pulled her to his chest in a comforting hug. "I'm sorry you feel like that, Korra," he murmured. What was he _doing_? "I'm sorry. But Amon will be stopped. No one is going to let him hurt you. He'll have to go through me and Bolin before he can get anywhere near you."

Korra looked up at him with wide blue eyes. The same eyes that never ceased to amaze him with their depth. They were eyes that had seen countless centuries of hardship, loss, and hope. They knew. They'd seen. Then she buried her face into his chest and cried for a long time.

Mako understood her need for release. Emotions were a painful thing to live with. Hopelessness, fear, and uncertainty were the worst of them. He remembered being a small boy and watching his parents get killed, leaving him and Bolin in a world that cared nothing of them. Mako had to keep his own emotions in check but still find a way to bear the burden of Bolin's emotions as well. He'd had no one to go to. But Korra had him. He knew that he had to be Korra's rock; to be the one who kept her sane and away from the edge of that dangerous cliff known as depression, where the slightest change of fortune meant destruction or safety.

"I'm not going to let Amon hurt you," he whispered. "I promise." These were not empty words. This was not the empty promise Mako had always feared to make. This was the truth. This was what his heart was telling him to say. Suddenly words meant just as much to him as actions.

But his was a dangerous promise. Amon, the madman bent on destroying everyone's lives, would find away around Mako's defenses protecting Korra. He would destroy Mako then take Korra's powers, which meant so much to her.

_I can't let that happen,_ he thought._ I've got to protect her. If not for me then for Bolin and the rest of the world._

Korra pulled away and wiped the tears from her face. Her eyes were red, swollen, and blotchy. Pain was a given in her case. "Thank you, Mako," she muttered through the staccato sobs which resided.

Mako nodded and replied, "Your welcome."

They started stretching and running through some warm-up exercises when Bolin finally showed up. "'Morning, all," he said, throwing his bag into the corner as Paboo leapt from his broad shoulders. "Did I miss anything important?"

Mako and Korra exchanged glances before Korra replied, "Nope. Just got here."

Bolin nodded and started yammering on about some nonsense or another as they practiced.

Mako couldn't help but keep thinking about his promise. He was going to be there for Korra no matter what. He'd never been a big believer in destiny but for some reason he felt a connection to his promise and to Korra. This was what he was born to do, he felt. He had to protect her, the only girl he'd ever had eyes for in all of Republic City. Even if it meant giving his bending.

Or his life.

**I liked how my oneshot tied in with the end of the season with meaning to. It gave me warm fuzzy feelings inside hahaha. But Amon and Tarrlok…. I sobbed. Truthfully I did. You know your series is amazing when you cry over the deaths of the characters you hated five minutes earlier. I WANT SEASON TWO PLEASE!**

**~A$h**


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